News
Local

Guy Lamarche, the city's manager of tourism, events and communications, presented a preamble to 2013 budget meetings regarding Timmins' tourism strategy for the years to come. Among the points Lamarche brought up were the need to continue growing the city's marquee events, building packages with hotels and airlines, and hiring two full-time staff members to fill vacant positions.

Timmins Tourism will focus largely on the community's main assets as it continues its quest to cement the city's profile as a top leisure destination.

Guy Lamarche, the city's manager of tourism, events and communications, identified what he called Timmins' "four product pillars." These include summer and winter outdoor adventures; city tours, attractions, festivals and events; sports tourism; and meetings, conferences and conventions.

"We need to eliminate seat-of-the-pants strategies and certainly explore some of the long haul investment markets," said Lamarche, previewing the tourism strategy budget at city council on Monday. "If we don't go there to find out whether or not there's appetite for Northern Ontario product, we'll never know."

Timmins is entering a new era in terms of tourism and leisure. The Shania Twain Centre and Gold Mine Tour are no more and the city is currently looking at bigger and better long-term avenues. Lamarche's main budget request was the eventual hiring of employees for two positions: co-ordinator of special events and festivals, as well as co-ordinator of conferences, conventions and sports tourism. Two other part-time summer positions were also recommended by Lamarche.

"These positions are based on this council supporting this tourism strategy," he said.

A downtown relocation of Timmins Tourism's head offices, the management of a community calendar, an in-house Timmins Tourism website re-design, and increased partnerships with airlines and hotels were other focuses of Lamarche's pre-budget discussion with council.

"I think Tourism Timmins must become customer-centric, not only with the stakeholders we work with, but also with the tourists that visit here," explained Lamarche. "We need to become the voice of tourism for the Greater Timmins Area."

Hundreds of thousands of magazine and tour guide ad hits, including in Ontario Summer, Festival and Events Ontario, Fifty-Five Plus and the Northeast Ontario outdoor and fishing/hunting guides, will contain advertisements championing the merits of Timmins as a place to visit and spend time discovering.

"This year get off the beaten path and discover stunning natural attractions only Mother Nature could create," reads one of the many 2013 Tourism Timmins ads promoting local attractions. "Breathtaking outdoors experiences and adventures to last a life time. A place of peace and tranquillity where the family can enjoy endless discoveries.

The brand and logo developed by the city and a team of consultants revolves around the theme, "I'm in."

Lamarche pointed out the success and the need to promote the city's unique events, namely the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival and the Summer Concert Series.

"We need to work tirelessly to grow the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and maintaining that particular festival as one of the top 100 festival events in Ontario as designated by Festival and Events Ontario last year," said Lamarche. "I suspect we'll once again be on the receiving end of that designation."

Other local priorities will include ongoing partnerships with the Timmins Athletics Coalition, the Timmins Snowmobile Club, Kamiskotia Snow Resort, Porcupine Ski Runners, the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, and a myriad of community sports organizations.

Lamarche explained that while people visiting the city for business reasons are important, the real money is in those who choose Timmins as a pleasure destination, and it's not something that happens overnight.

"Everyone in the world knows Coca Cola, McDonald's, Apple Computers, Canada," said Lamarche. "Yet these entities are constantly investing on product development, partnerships and marketing, because they want to maintain their market share, loyalties, brand recall, and continue building top of mind awareness."

Councillors praised Lamarche's in-depth presentation and his passion for developing tourism in Timmins. A tourism master plan is in the works, and two requests for proposals have been tendered by the city for work including setting up roving Shania Twain memorabilia displays in high-traffic areas and re-locating statues and artifacts from the Gold Mine Tour.

Lamarche said the plan he presented to council on Monday was an overview prior to budget meetings and was flexible enough to be incorporated into the eventual master plan.

With the presentation and ensuing questions lasting nearly two hours on Monday, Mayor Tom Laughren recommended Lamarche come back to city hall in the coming weeks after council had a chance to discuss and review its options.

A main point of contention remains whether some of the money invested in Tourism Timmins could be consolidated with the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), an entity which also promotes economic growth through attracting tourists to the region.

"We did have tourism in with economic development about 10 or 12 or 13 years ago, and it was not something that worked well, that's why we are where we're at," said Laughren.

The mayor said he'd be open to discussion if someone could show the benefits of investing extra money in the TEDC for the means of tourism, but that "as it stands now, I'm happy with the direction we're moving in."

The proposed budget for tourism in Timmins is being reduced by about $142,000, largely due to the closure of the Shania Twain Centre and Underground Gold Mine Tour.